Korean Movie Review May 2019
The Big Swindle
The movie won numerous awards in several
categories in the Korean Movie Industry in 2004. Directed by Choi Dong-Hoon.
The Big Swindle is a beautifully crafted story line of plots and counter plots
amongst criminal master minds, who upon stealing 5 billion won from the Korean
Bank are having trouble on how to spend it. The big scam was successful until
both the money and its custodian, Choi chang-Hyeok (Park Shin-Yang) vanished.
The movie’s audience is systematically driven
through a series of romance, a war of wits, suspense and action as the Gang
financier and veteran con artist– Mr. Kim (Baek Yoon-Sik) vows to trace the
money, while he loses his girlfriend to another unsuspecting criminal. And who
do you think made the big swindle?
The movie reveals the constant and continuous rat
and mice game of police and thieves in the cosmopolitan society. We are led
into the tough and fake lives of the “Wannabes” who insist on getting rich or
die trying. And in all, the best con-artist are usually the unsuspecting
victims. It is a thrilling movie, you
can’t guess what is coming next. I would rate it a 8 out of 10.
Jeon Woo-Chi: The Taoist Wizard
Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard was a great spell
of the popular director Choi Dong-hoon in 2009. The movie is also known as
Woochi: The Demon Slayer.
The movie is based on the Korean folktales about
wizards, magicians, gods and goblins. The battle between the different forces
for dominance and custody over the Flute of Prophecy is over 500 years old. The
magicians and wizards have to come to grasp with the modern pageantry of life
as they are released into a modern society of Seoul 2009.
Jeon Woochi (Gang Dong-won) has a score to settle
with his arch enemy Hwadam (Kim Yoon-seok) who is responsible for the death of
his master and the destruction caused by the goblins. However, he is no match
for Hwadam and must first loose himself to attain his full potential. The
director is sure to add a little romance as Woochi gets caught up in his
attraction for Seo In-kyung (Im Soo-jung) in the middle of the magical war.
Unknown to them, there was more to the person of Seo In-kyung, she was special.
It is a fantasy action movie with many comical scenes. If you love movies on magic and spells you would enjoy this movie. To defend a powerful opponent with magic you need wits, and that is where the movie’s suspense is. I would rate it 7 out of 10… the movie is a great hit of 2009
